Camera or microphone blocked in an in-app browser? How to fix it

An in-app browser is the browser screen that opens when you tap a link inside another app, such as Facebook, Instagram, Gmail or Telegram. It belongs to that app, so the browser settings in how to allow camera and microphone access may not reach it. The quickest fix is to open the page in your default browser.

Why in-app browsers block the camera and microphone

A page inside an app can use the camera or microphone only when the app passes its request on, and only when the app itself has your permission to use them.

• Android. When an app shows a page in a WebView, Android’s building block for web pages inside apps, the app must answer the page’s camera or microphone request and hold the matching Android permissions. Google’s reference for that request says: “If this method isn’t overridden, the permission is denied.” A WebView also doesn’t “share state with the browser”, so allowing a site in Chrome doesn’t allow it inside the app.
• iPhone and iPad. Apple’s WebKit lets the app decide whether a page may use the camera and microphone: the app can grant, deny or ask you.
• Computers. Desktop apps that show web pages in a pane of their own decide in the same way. On Windows, an app built on Microsoft’s WebView2 can allow or deny a page’s request, or leave the default, which normally asks you. Apple’s WebKit works the same way on a Mac.

So when a page works in Chrome or Safari but not inside an app, the app is what blocks it, and your browser’s settings can’t change that.

Some apps open links in a tab of your own browser instead: a Custom Tab on Android, or a Safari view on iPhone. Google says Custom Tabs share the browser’s cookies and permissions, so access you already allowed in the browser carries over. A Custom Tab’s menu can include an option to open the page in the full browser, and a Safari view has a button that opens the page directly in Safari.

Open the page in your default browser

Your default browser is the one your phone uses for links. Below are the steps where the app’s maker documents them.

Facebook

In the Facebook app’s browser, tap Options in the top right, then Open in external browser. Facebook describes this in View websites in the Facebook app, for the app on iPhone, iPad and Android.

Telegram

Telegram says you can “choose a different browser from your default when you long press a link”. To change where links open, go to Settings > Chat Settings > In-App Browser on Android, or Settings > Privacy and Security > Open Links in on iOS. See Telegram’s June 2026 update.

Gmail on Android

When Open weblinks in Gmail is on, Google says “links will open in your Gmail app”. Turn it off in Gmail’s General settings; Google’s Change your Gmail settings shows how to find them.

Outlook on iPhone and Android

When you tap a link, Outlook lets you choose Microsoft Edge or your default browser. Turn on Remember my choice to keep it, or change it later in Settings > Open Links With. With a work or school account, your IT admin can manage or hide this setting. Microsoft also notes that when Outlook and Teams are protected by app protection policies, “those apps open links in Microsoft Edge”; allow the camera and microphone there as in any browser. See Choosing how you want to open links in Outlook mobile apps.

Other apps

Look in the app’s browser menu for an option that opens the page in your browser. If there isn’t one, type the page’s address into your browser yourself; pages on this site start with checkyourdisplay.com.

A desktop app also needs the system’s permission to use the camera and microphone: see Windows 11 and macOS. Microsoft notes that many video call apps, like Teams, are desktop apps that need Let desktop apps access your camera turned on.

Choose your default browser

Links that open outside an app go to your default browser.

• iPhone and iPad: go to Settings, then tap Apps. Tap Default Apps at the top of the list, then Browser App, and choose a browser. Apple says to update to the latest iOS or iPadOS to use these settings.
• Android: open Settings and tap Apps. Under General, tap Default apps or Choose default apps, then Browser app, and select the browser you want to use.

These steps follow Apple’s Change your default apps for features on iPhone and iPad and Google’s Learn how to change your default browser.

Allow access and test it

1. In your browser, allow the camera and microphone when the page asks. If it doesn’t ask, follow the steps for Android or iPhone and iPad in how to allow camera and microphone access.
2. Open the Webcam Test and press Start camera. If you see yourself, the browser can use the camera.
3. Open the Microphone Test, press Start test and speak. If the meter moves when you speak, the browser is receiving sound.

If both tests work in your browser but not inside the app, the camera and microphone are fine: the app’s built-in browser is what blocks them.